The Russian Deception

CHAPTER 39

Jaques Dupree followed the team out of the city. They drove to an exclusive enclave some distance from town and stopped on a street dominated by a large mansion. Satisfied his prey had reached their destination, Dupree parked where he could see his targets when they left. He'd decided to eliminate them when they were away from the hotel. Like now, when they were all together in their vehicle. There was a long stretch of highway between here and the city that was perfect for the ambush.

A Heckler and Koch MP7 lay on the seat next to him, hidden under a blanket. The weapon was compact and efficient, an upgrade to the aging MP5. Modern body armor had made the standard pistol cartridges used by the MP5, the Uzi, the Czech Skorpion and the others obsolete. The MP7 announced a new day in personal warfare.

The MP7 fired armor piercing, high velocity rounds that could drill through twenty layers of Kevlar. An armored vest made no difference. They could just as easily punch through the steel door of the Mercedes his targets were driving. The one on the seat had a 40 round box magazine extending out of the pistol grip, an innovative feature. Like they said, you could never be too thin or too rich or have too much ammo. Dupree liked having the extra ten rounds ready to go.

He leaned back in the seat and waited. Dupree was in a good mood, thinking about what he'd do with the money he'd get for taking them out of the picture. It was hard to beat his occupation. Where else could you earn a million euros for a few minutes' work?

The temperature outside the car hovered just above freezing. Selena had on a dark blue jacket lined with fleece, a matching wool hat and a colorful scarf. They all wore winter jackets and warm clothes. Nick didn't like winter much. The thick jackets could get in the way when reaching for a weapon. It was one thing in the military, where weapons were always accessible. It was another when you were dressed as a civilian.

Gutenberg's house was set on several acres of land away from neighbors. Big and sprawling, four stories high with dormers and steeply pitched roofs, the house had a solid look of respectability. The exterior was white stucco framed by dark timber accents. A large portico shielded the entrance from the weather. A railed veranda ran along the front on the second floor, past a row of tall windows. The building was set back from the road at the end of a long drive. The landscaped grounds were covered with snow. The drive had been plowed.

A stone wall bordered the property. Elaborate black iron gates blocked entry. An intercom and camera were mounted on the wall next to the gate.

"No guardhouse," Ronnie said. He scanned the property through binoculars.

"He doesn't need one." Selena pointed.

Two large German shepherds were playing in the snow on the other side of the gate. A third sat nearby, watching.

"Big dogs," Lamont said.

"That's just for openers," Nick said. "He'll have guards up there at the house and sensors covering the grounds. There will be cameras everywhere."

"Going to be tough to get him in there," Ronnie said.

"But not impossible. I'm not going in there blind. He could have fifty men inside."

"There's someone," Ronnie said.

He handed Nick the binoculars. A tall man in a winter parka and a dark blue watch cap pulled down over his ears came around the far corner of the building. He had a submachine gun slung over his shoulder. The dogs ran up to him, scattering snow in the air as they vied for attention. He reached down and patted the leader and said something. They ran off toward the back of the building.

"Just like we figured," Lamont said. "We knew he'd have guards."

"But how many?" Ronnie said.

"More than one, you can count on that," Nick said. "We need to find out if he ever leaves the property. It would be easier to take him if he was away from the house."

"Can we get Harker to put a satellite on it? That way if he does leave we'd know it."

"I already asked her. Let's go back to the city. We can't do anything until we have more information."

Nick was driving. He put the car in gear and started back toward Leipzig.

Traffic was light. The roads were clear of snow except for a few blowing flakes. The freeze had left patches of ice here and there on the pavement. They were still in the suburbs. Nick kept the speed down.

Selena was looking in the side mirror. "I think someone is following us."

"The blue Volvo?" Nick said. "I've been watching him. He showed up right after we left Gutenberg's house."

The Volvo was keeping back, never getting too close.

"Maybe it's just a car," Selena said.

"Maybe it's not. Let's find out."

Nick speeded up. After a brief hesitation the Volvo kept pace. They came to an intersection just as the light was changing and Nick turned right. The Volvo was caught at the light. Nick drove two blocks and turned left. He saw a gas station and pulled in behind the pumps, facing the way they'd come. The engine idled, the only sound in the car coming from the heater.

The blue Volvo went by.

"Let's play tag," Nick said.

He let several cars go by and then pulled out into traffic. Nick kept two or three cars between them and their quarry. Suddenly the Volvo picked up speed.

"He's made us," Ronnie said.

Nick sped up after him.

"He's turning onto the autobahn," Selena said.

Nick followed him onto the A14, headed away from Leipzig. The plows had been out in full force, clearing the six lane highway. A narrow median divided the blacktop road, bracketed on both sides by a low steel guardrail. Ahead, the Volvo accelerated away.

"Man, he's really moving," Lamont said.

"Most of the traffic's going the other way, into the city," Selena said.

They passed a speed limit sign. It read 130.

"That's in kilometers," Selena said. "Eighty-one miles per hour."

"We're going faster than that," Nick said.

They'd moved out of the suburbs and into open countryside. The Volvo continued to accelerate. They passed a car that had skidded off the road. The surface of the highway appeared clear of ice and snow. They came over a rise. Ahead, the road dipped down toward a low bridge crossing a canal. On the near side of the bridge a small group of people clustered near an ambulance. A police car was parked next to it with flashing lights. The rear end of a car stuck up out of the canal. Several more cars had skidded off the side of the road into the snow.

Ahead of them in the Volvo, Dupree was going over a hundred miles an hour. He saw the police and hit the brakes. The car went into a violent spin. Dupree tried to brake and steer. Nothing happened. The steering wheel felt as though it wasn't connected to anything. The Volvo spun down the slope, out of control. Frantic, Dupree pumped the brakes and twisted the wheel, with no result. People scrambled out of the way as the car hurtled toward them.

The Volvo slammed into the ambulance. The gas tank ruptured. A dull boom rolled along the highway. A balloon of orange flame wrapped itself around Dupree's car.

Nick started to brake and the car went sideways. He took his foot off the pedal and tried steering into the skid but nothing happened. The Mercedes was sideways in the middle of the road and sliding down the slope at eighty miles an hour. There was nothing he could do. He left the wheel where it was.

"Oh, shit," Ronnie said.

Next to Nick, Selena sat rigid in her seat. She gripped the dash as they sped toward the bridge and the canal. They flashed by the flaming wreckage, still sideways in the middle of the road. Two cops in black leather and peaked caps stared open-mouthed at the car as it went by. On the other side of the bridge Nick felt the wheels grip the road. He swerved and straightened out and kept going, leaving the crash scene behind.

"Holy shit." Lamont looked back at the wreckage. "What was that?"

"Black ice," Nick said. "No way to see it."

"Did you see the look on the faces of those policemen?" Selena asked.

"We better get off this road in case they still have a radio that works," Ronnie said. "There's an exit coming up ahead."

Nick left the Autobahn and pointed the car in the general direction of Leipzig. Selena turned on the GPS.

"I wonder who he was?" she said.

"I don't know but he was trouble."

"You think he was waiting at Gutenberg's for us to show up?"

"I'm not sure, but I might have seen him behind us after we left the hotel. He probably followed us from there. If he was waiting for us, it means Gutenberg knows we're on to him."

"That's not good," Ronnie said.

Watching the GPS, Selena said, "Take your next left and follow that road for the next twenty-five kilometers."

Nobody said anything for the rest of the drive back into the city.